


Put Your Head on My Shoulder

by kd1288



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Dancer Kim Jongin | Kai, Falling In Love, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Nerd Do Kyungsoo | D.O, One Shot, Phone Calls & Telephones, Secret Crush, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-18 04:20:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29362398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kd1288/pseuds/kd1288
Summary: Kyungsoo is dead tired and didn't even register he'd fallen asleep on someone until they gently shake him awake. Meanwhile, Jongin is ecstatic that the cute stranger that catches the same bus as him is resting his head on his shoulder.
Relationships: Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai
Comments: 35
Kudos: 117
Collections: The Little Prince Fest_Round Three





	Put Your Head on My Shoulder

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my offering for the valentine's day. Thanks to the mods for arranging such a short time special round for an ongoing round that gave me a chance to write for our prince Kyungsoo.  
> Also thanks to the prompter for your cute prompt that could inspire me to write this fic. I hope you like it.

As Kyungsoo steps out of his front door, a splash of red greets him the first thing in the morning. A high schooler carrying a bunch of red roses on his cycle carrier. Kyungsoo grimaces. It's that time of the year again when perfectly normal people start to act silly like it's some kind of infection spreading through everyone. He can understand loving someone, liking someone new and being excited about it. But why on earth people make so much fuss about a particular day, or a whole week is beyond him. 

If you love someone, every day should feel like a celebration, not a single day. He snorts, staring at the retreating figure of the young boy on cycle. So young and already buying expensive roses with money that should have been spent to buy books. He shakes his head muttering something about kids these days. 

Kyungsoo has always been an old soul; but ever since he's registered as a junior research fellow, it appears he's aging unusually fast. Looking at him, he looks like any other twenty-four year old young man, but his soul must be a hundred years old. Although you can't blame him, seeing how he has to endure his asshole of a research guide with a smile on his face the whole day. And now there was another depressing factor added to his life- tutoring high school kids. Kids at this age are either horny or overly curious, sometimes both. Exasperatingly so. 

  
He shudders at the thought of last year's valentine's day when two of his female students gave him heart shaped chocolates, heart shaped red balloons along with small bouquets of red roses. 

Maybe his aversion towards anything too red has started from that day. 

By the time he reaches the bus-stop, the piercing cold air feels like thousands of needles pricking his skin. He sniffles, rubbing his bare hands on his thick padded coat, trying to bring a little bit of warmth in his almost numb palms. He's forgotten his gloves once again. But before his hands get frozen, fortunately he spots the bus at a distance. 

  
Quickly entering the bus the first thing he looks for is a vacant seat as he has a long way to go and he hates standing all the way. His feet hurt later at night. So while he is looking around for a seat, he's completely oblivious to a person inside the bus trying to hide a small smile seeing him there. 

Today Jongin is sitting at the window side exactly three seats away from the nerdy looking cute guy who always seems too eager to sit every time he boards the bus. It's like the guy turns into a hawk looking for a seat and Jongin finds this so funny. The man looks perfectly capable to be standing for only five stops where most of the office goers get down and yet, every time he has to wait, he pouts. Jongin finds it fascinating. How can a grown man look so cute pouting? It must be the pretty plump lips, he muses, but as soon as the thought of the guy's lips comes to his mind he visibly reddens and looks down. 

He reminds himself not to be a creep. Shaking his head, he looks out the window. No point in staring. The guy has an evidently poor eyesight judging from his thick glasses and given the way he's never once even  _ glanced  _ at Jongin in a month they're taking the same bus, he doesn't hope he will look at him today either. 

This, Jongin is yet again reminded of his cheating ass ex boyfriend and what he said at their final fight.  _ No one will look at you the way I do. You'll never find anyone else like me.  _ Jongin huffs out at the audacity of that asshole. Even when he cheated twice,Jongin got weak at his very skillful begging and took him in. But the third time's the charm and as the asshole figured he'd not be forgiven again, he  _ cursed _ Jongin. 

Although Jongin considers himself a perfectly normal, rational human being, after six months of horrible drought of cute, handsome guys remotely interested in him, he's slowly started to believe that the curse is working. Take for example the very handsome nerdy looking man standing just two feet away from him. He's been eyeing him for a month now and never once caught his eyes. At this point Jongin's sure he's straight.

Why are all handsome men straight? 

His mood turns gloomy even more as he remembers there's a western dance class today, and he can already feel his sore muscles aching for all the footwork he has to do. As a ballet major, mastering western style is quite challenging for him but there's no way out till he graduates. After that, he will never dance those ridiculous dances with jerky movements that make him look like an overgrown, jumping monkey. 

After standing for agonizing twenty minutes Kyungsoo finally locates the vacant seat and without losing a minute he quickly drops down on the seat, maybe a little too hard as the guy sitting beside him gets startled at the sudden jerk of the seat and stares at him. 

Jongin was looking out the window sulking about his bad luck when suddenly, someone sits beside him so rudely that the whole seat jerks and he feels an elbow poking at his side. He turns around to glare at the person with a mind to ask them to be careful. But before he can utter a single word he finds out that his crush for one month is the one sitting beside him now. His heart hiccups inside his chest and for a moment he can only stare at the guy. 

God! He's so handsome! 

Jongin swoons at how pretty the man is now that he's sitting so close, and how he's currently giving him his full attention for the first time. 

Kyungsoo knows he should apologise but there is something in the way the guy is staring at him that makes him unable to come up with an apology. It's like the guy knows him and is expecting something from him and that confuses him. As far as he remembers he's never met this guy in his life. "I'm so sorry. I should have been more careful," he apologises, holding up a hand. 

Jongin swoons some more at how beautiful the man sounds before he manages a weak "it's okay." After that, there is nothing more to say and he sits there trying to come up with something,  _ anything  _ to say that would get the conversation going. He needs to know the fate of this crush, otherwise he won't be able to move on; but despite being good at small talk, Jongin is finding it hard to say anything to the man as he's a little intimidated by him. There is a certain sternness on the man's face that makes him hard to approach, and Jongin isn't ready to make a fool of himself by pissing off his crush on their very first conversation. 

  
  


So he keeps quiet. 

  
  


If Kyungsoo weren't working as a full time research scholar for a whole year that turned him almost into a zombie, he'd have been delighted to be sitting beside such a gorgeous looking guy. His old self would be squealing with glee. But the only reaction he has now is a ghost of a smile on his lips that vanishes as quickly as it formed. He tugs at his ear, reminding himself not to think about boys. He has no time in his life for dating now as he can't do anything with half-assed efforts. And it will be half-assed if he dates now despite his busy schedule. 

He's better off not getting excited about a gorgeous looking boy that keeps on stealing glances at him. He hides his smirk behind his fist. Just because he can't date, doesn't mean he can't enjoy the attention. However, he's been working on his laptop, doing the dreaded literature review almost the whole night before and that's making his eyes sting now. So he decides to close them for a while as he still has a long way to go. 

  
  


Jongin is listening to heartbreak ballads on melon when he feels a head dropping on his shoulder. He looks sideways to find his handsome co-passenger sleeping quite soundly on his shoulder. His heart flutters. The man must be very tired to be falling asleep like this at nine in the morning. Whatever maybe the reason, he's glad of the outcome. This might very well be a _sign._ So he decides to introduce himself when the man wakes up. After using his shoulder as a pillow, the man is obligated to say a few words at least. Right? 

Wrong. Fate had something else planned for him. 

  
  


Someone is gently nudging him but he doesn't want to wake up. He's too comfortable to wake up. But when the nudging turns into shaking, he gingerly opens his eyes and... everything is blurry. That effectively wakes Kyungsoo up. Just as he realises he's still inside the bus and he's been sleeping on his co-passenger's shoulder all this time, he sits upright at once. He realises he's been so out of it that he's lost his specs and now he can't see shit. What the hell is wrong with him? 

  
  


"Hey, it's the last stop. We have to get down now," Jongin says in a soft voice. He's hoped the guy would wake up on his own and then he'd try to talk, but he slept on and now they have to get down. Even though his mood is a little sour now, Jongin finds the out-of-it look on the man's face pretty adorable. He was sleeping so soundly that his glasses slipped off his nose and he didn't even twitch. Jongin happened to be staring at him at that moment so he caught the specs, saving them from getting broken. 

"Here," he shows the glasses to the man, "you dropped these." The man looks embarrassed, pink blooming on his round cheeks making him look even more handsome. 

"I'm extremely sorry," Kyungsoo says, while putting his glasses on. "I didn't get much sleep last night. So...but I'm sorry I bothered you the whole way." He can't believe he's been sleeping on another man's shoulder. Who does that? Only kids and the older people. Certainly not a twenty-four year old man as himself. This is the rock bottom for him. He's never been so embarrassed in his whole life. What must the boy think about him? As soon as the bus stops, he hurriedly gets up and leaves. 

It's when he reaches his department it dawns on him that he forgot to thank the guy for saving his glasses. Without them he'd be nothing short of blind. It was horribly rude of him to leave without thanking the guy properly but in his defence, he was so embarrassed that he couldn't even dare to look at him. Anyways, he decides if he meets him again on the bus, he'd make sure to thank him and apologize to him for being such a nuisance, again.

  
  
  


Jongin is dog tired tonight. First all those classes and then dance school. He's completely spent; can't wait to get to his apartment. This especially cold weather is not helping him at all. He trudges towards the bus-stop, dejected after a look at his watch. The bus will take almost twenty more minutes to arrive. Twenty minutes in this cold weather seems like a punishment, making him let out a long sigh. But as he nears the bus-stop he spots a short male figure wearing a familiar black padded coat, hunching against the strong gusts of chilly wind. It's like Jongin drank a magic potion that takes away all his weariness and he feels rejuvenated. 

Slowly approaching the man, who hasn't noticed him yet, he tries to figure out how to proceed with him. Finally he decides on keeping it simple: just a hello and a casual introduction. He'll go slow depending on the reaction from the other end. "Hello! We meet again," Jongin greets the man when he's close enough for him to hear him over the noise on the street. 

  
  
  


Kyungsoo snaps around, spooked at the sudden words spoken near him. When he faces the person and finds out it's the guy from the morning he experiences a weird feeling. He feels  _ happy  _ to see the guy. Never one for small talk, he doesn't  _ usually _ get excited to see strangers but now without a conscious effort, he smiles up at the boy. "Hi." He offers as he tugs on the shoulder straps of the laptop bag he's carrying. The boy is quite tall, more than he estimated before. In a blue hoodie, faded jeans and worn sneakers, he looks every bit a university student, who's currently widely smiling down at him. He's gorgeous. There's no doubt about it. 

"Hi! I'm Kim Jongin." The boy extends his right hand and Kyungsoo shakes it briefly. "I study at the S.S.M.A here." He gestures with his thumb to the direction of the university. "First year, ballet major. And you?" 

First year. Oh, so he was right. Younger than him. "I'm Do Kyungsoo. I'm doing research. Comparative literature. Shindong uni." 

The boy...Jongin, appears impressed. "Wow! Research scholar," he says, raising one of his brows, looking even more handsome.

Kyungsoo snorts. "What's that supposed to mean? Don't I match your vision of a research scholar, Jongin?" He looks at the taller boy with a challenging look on his face.

Jongin seems nervous. "Oh no hyung. I didn't mean to offend you. It's just that you...you look quite young to be doing research. That's why. I'm impressed, really." He fidgets with the string of his hoodie looking adorable. 

Kyungsoo decides not to stress out the boy anymore. "It's ok Jongin. I wasn't offended." He pats the taller boy's arm in a comforting manner, finding himself impressed to discover the hint of taut muscle underneath the hoodie. "Ballet, huh? Honestly, I'm surprised too. You must be pretty talented," he genuinely compliments the boy. He knows how hard it is to get into S.S.M.A. 

  
  


A warmth spreads across Jongin's chest and his cheeks bloom. He can't believe he's actually talking to Kyungsoo  _ twice _ in a day. Now he totally believes that this is a  _ sign.  _ No one can make him believe otherwise. After one month of no progress, things are speeding up suddenly just in the span of a day and he shouldn't call it  _ fate?  _ You gotta be kidding. 

Jongin is about to ask something else when a particularly strong gust of wind rattles the structure of the small, flimsy shelter at the stop. Jongin notices Kyungsoo shivering and feels bad for the man. "It's so cold tonight," he says, inching a little closer to the man. "I noticed, in the bus, you didn't wear gloves?" He finds that quite odd. Especially when it's nearing zero degree. 

Kyungsoo gets startled a little. "Oh! I forgot. I tend to forget small things." The shorter man offers him a shy smile. "Although you can't really blame me with the amount of thinking my brain has to do. It has its limits, you know." 

Jongin nods, hiding a smile. "Don't worry. Forgetting the small things like wearing gloves in the winter is totally in fashion for wise research scholars like you," he deadpans. 

Kyungsoo is pleasantly surprised. He didn't expect to like this Jongin guy when he first started talking to him. "If I didn't know better I'd have thought you're making fun of me in a very roundabout way, Jongin," he says in a fake warning voice, watching the taller boy from the corner of his eyes. That makes the younger giggle and Kyungsoo can't suppress his own laugh too. 

It's so easy. He can't remember the last time he's talked to a practical stranger for this long and actually didn't feel bored. Talking to Jongin feels so easy. The guy has a good sense of humour, making it easier for the conversation to go on because God knows he's not at it. Suddenly he remembers something. "Oh, Jongin, I forgot to thank you earlier." Jongin looks at him questioningly. "Thanks for saving my specs. I don't know what I'd have done without it," he says it pointing at his glasses. 

The younger smiles at him. "You're welcome. But hyung, I gotta admit you looked cute sleeping like that," Jongin says, offering him a sheepish smile. Kyungsoo's eyes get bigger in surprise. Is Jongin  _ flirting  _ with him? Hmm. He can't say he knows much about the art of flirting as he's always been a little blunt but even  _ he _ knows calling someone who's not your family member, your best friend or your pet,  _ cute _ must fall into the territory of flirting. He can't deny this actually lightens his mood. He realises he's been keeping himself from small happinesses like harmless flirting with handsome guys. It's not like it's something serious. Just harmless flirting. 

Momentary, fleeting happiness. 

  
  
  


It goes like this for Kyungsoo and Jongin for the rest of the evening. Kyungsoo smiles at all the silly jokes Jongin makes and Jongin finds himself getting warmer each time he makes the older laugh. Kyungsoo's laugh is the current favourite sound for Jongin and the way Jongin's eyebrows dance whenever he talks excitedly makes Kyungsoo inexplicably shy. By the time they have reached their own apartments and are calling it a night, both of them have a small smile on their lips. 

  
  
  


Kyungsoo met Jongin at the start of the valentine's week and now it's the 13th. Bright red balloons and roses don't bother him as much as before. Although if you point this out, he'd vehemently deny it; but he knows it himself. He notices the changes in himself in the short time he's known Jongin and is taking the same bus with him. 

  
  


The younger boy is generally pleasing to be with. He loves dancing, sleeping and eating out. Exactly in that order. He's content with his life. He doesn't frown, scowl and curse like he does. He's like how a twenty-one year old boy should be. Even after a bad break up he's trying to enjoy his life. Something that he finds quite admirable. He, too, works as a dance teacher at a local dance school near his university, where he trains young children in ballet and jazz. And the funny thing is he  _ likes _ it. Kyungsoo could see how his eyes shone talking about young kids taking up ballet for the first time, and he kept his mouth shut about his own thoughts and experiences about tutoring high school kids. 

Overall, Kyungsoo likes Jongin's company. Which is why he misses him when he doesn't spot him inside the bus with a welcoming smile on his face today. Maybe he's sick. Now that Kyungsoo thinks about it the boy  _ was  _ sniffling a little last night. He must have caught a cold and taken a leave from the uni. Kyungsoo purses his lips. The whole week they've travelled together, they have sat side by side or both of them standing so that they could talk. So now Kyungsoo is really dreading the hour long journey to the uni. 

He sits down dejectedly and plugs in the head phone when his phone chimes with an incoming message. 

**Jongin:**

_ sorry hyung. i missed the bus. _

__

_ It's ok. I thought you were sick.  _

_ No. im fine. 😊 see you in the evening.  _

_ Ok. See you.  _

Kyungsoo feels relieved to hear that Jongin isn't sick. He finds himself anticipating their meeting in the evening. The corners of his mouth lift upward as he plays an instrumental love song on his phone. 

  
  
  


The day is not going as Jongin planned at all. Tomorrow is valentine's day and he finally decided to man up, and confess to Kyungsoo. That's why he needed to meet the man in the morning to prepare him beforehand by dropping some hints and trying to gauge his possible reaction to an abrupt proposal. But he overslept and now he's running late  _ again _ . 

  
  


One of the kids hurt herself in the class and so he had to stay and comfort her. After that he went to buy the bouquet from the best flower shop in Seoul that was a little too far from his school. Once there, he completely got lost in selecting the perfect bouquet for Kyungsoo that he lost track of time. 

And when he realised how late he was he ran like a sprinter but even then, he couldn't make it on time. He watches the bus leaving from twenty feet away from the bus-stop and kicks the air in frustration. 

Just when he thought luck is on his side, this happens. Kyungsoo must think he's too careless to keep a promise. It's like every time he takes a step forward, somehow his bad luck drags him backwards. He feels like crying. He wanted to see Kyungsoo so bad. He wanted to see how he'd react when he gave him the bouquet. Honestly it was out of his budget but the moment he saw the arrangement, he knew he had to take it. 

  
  


All in vain. 

  
  


When the bus came and Jongin didn't show up, a voice inside Kyungsoo's head told him to let the bus go. Even though he knew the next bus was almost an hour later, he didn't take the bus. Even though he forgot to wear gloves again and his hands were quite nearly frozen, he decided to wait for Jongin. There must be a reason that the boy is late. He's not the careless type, he knows. So Kyungsoo waits. 

  
  


He turns around at the sound of running footsteps and spots Jongin. It seems he's been running for quite a while from the way he is panting. Kyungsoo observes the taller boy from a distance, unnoticed. He's looking exceptionally handsome tonight. Hair all ruffled with all the running, cheeks red from the exertion. And he is holding a huge-ass bouquet of red roses in one hand. Oh, so this is why he is late. Kyungsoo snorts in mild annoyance. He waited for the punk, and turns out he was on a date. He could've texted him like he did in the morning. 

Kyungsoo is a little pissed now. 

  
  


Just as Jongin enters the bus-stop, he notices Kyungsoo standing hidden behind a standee advertising some type of facial cream. He halts, almost dumbfounded. He can't believe Kyungsoo waited for him given how much the man hates being out in the cold. He rushes towards him, unable to stop the grin that's stretching his lips wide. But before he can say anything Kyungsoo beats him to it. 

  
  


"Glad to know little Jonginnie was enjoying his date," Kyungsoo quips with a smile on his face that somehow fails to reach his eyes. By now Jongin knows how the man looks when he genuinely smiles or laughs. Kyungsoo thinks he was on a date.

Huh! The irony. 

Jongin notices Kyungsoo forgot the gloves again. So he hands the shorter man the bouquet to get the spare ones he's carrying in his backpack since the first day he saw Kyungsoo going without gloves. "Here, wear these first." He offers them to a surprised Kyungsoo. 

"You carry spare gloves?" The older man looks surprised yet pleased. 

  
  


"Yes. I knew one of these days you'd need them." Jongin feels happy when he hears the genuine laugh from Kyungsoo. 

  
  
  


As it was getting quite late they decided to get a cab instead of waiting for the bus. Once inside the cab Kyungsoo turns towards him with a teasing smile on his face. "So I heard today is kiss day," he says and Jongin hums in affirmation. "So... was prince Jongin kissed by his one true love tonight?" Jongin splutters. In the week that they've been talking, the older never teased him like this. He never asked Jongin any personal questions. It was mostly Jongin who shared about his life with the older. So this is completely unexpected to him. And isn't that a roundabout way of asking whether he's single or not? Is he delusional or Kyungsoo is really interested in him?

But just as he's about to answer Kyungsoo interrupts him. "Sorry. I shouldn't have asked such a personal question. Forget it." 

After that, Kyungsoo stayed mostly quiet the whole ride. Jongin becomes confused at the older's sudden mood change but he doesn't comment on it either. However, his plan to give the bouquet to the man is totally ruined now. There isn't enough time to explain how he feels for Kyungsoo properly, and he isn't sure how Kyungsoo would react if he confesses inside a cab. With a sigh, Jongin decides to postpone his confession for a better time. 

  
  


By the time they reach Kyungsoo's stop, the older man tries to get his wallet out of his pants pocket to pay for the ride and Jongin holds his hand. "No, please. You waited for me. Let me take care of the fare at least," he pleads. As Kyungsoo shrugs, Jongin hands him the bouquet once again to hold while he takes his own wallet out. 

  
  
  


And that is how Kyungsoo ends up with the bouquet in his hands. He realises that long after he got out of the cab, bidding Jongin goodbye. He scolds himself for being so forgetful. The first thing he does after getting inside his apartment is text Jongin. 

_ Jongin I'm so sorry I forgot to give your bouquet back. _

_ Its ok hyung. don't worry.  _

_ You're being nice. I'm genuinely sorry.  _

_ Hyung…?  _

_ What?  _

_ How mad will you be if i say its for you? _

_ What do you mean? _

_ I bought it for you.  _

  
  


What? Kyungsoo immediately calls the younger boy. His heart is thumping inside his chest as he waits for Jongin to pick up. And when he does, Kyungsoo goes straight to the point. "What do you mean?"

"Are you mad, hyung?" 

"No, I'm not mad but are you serious?" 

"Yes, I am. I wanted to confess tonight but everything got messed up and then you were being a little weird...so I chickened out." 

Kyungsoo snickers at Jongin's explanation. So Jongin likes him. Not that Kyungsoo didn't have any idea about that, but he didn't know the younger was serious about him. And if he's being honest to himself, he was a little jealous when he thought the boy was out on a date. Kyungsoo knows he's sworn off of dating the day he started his research, but things have changed. In a mere week. He's met Jongin and they're both attracted to each other. Although he still needs to focus on his research, he realises he  _ wants  _ to be with Jongin. So he's almost sure he can manage both dating and his studies. 

"Hello? hyung? I know you're mad. Scold me all you want, but please don't stop talking to me." 

"Jongin listen to me. I'm not mad and uh...thanks for the bouquet but  _ next time _ give me yellow or pink ones ok?" 

  
  


Kyungsoo hears muffled squealing coming from the other end and he grins. 

"So, I just checked, tomorrow is Sunday and it will be quite warm. So...will you go out with me hyung?" 

Kyungsoo says yes and he hears the muffled squealing coming from the other end again and he can't help but giggle this time.

  
  


❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

  
  
  


__

  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> So how was it? Did it satisfy your fluff cravings for the day? Comments and kudos are much appreciated.


End file.
